Kris Aquino mum on ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ project

After briefly making headlines a few weeks back when she lengthily posted the news of landing a Hollywood deal on Instagram, Kris Aquino now refuses to say anything about what she hashtagged as her “new blessing.”

Rumors circulated following her online disclosure that Aquino snagged a role in the Hollywood movie adaptation of Kevin Kwan’s best selling novel Crazy Rich Asians but no further details have come up since.

Kris Aquino

Curiously, just last week, Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. partially announced the names included in the all-Asian cast, including Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeoh, Gemma Chan, Sonoya Mizuno, Awkwafina, and Chris Pang. The name Kris Aquino was not on the list, even as the movie’s director, Jon M. Chu already started filming in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Singapore late April.

With such developments having nothing to do with Aquino at the slightest, several showbiz tabloids have already sentenced the once busy celebrity’s big news as an exaggeration, with the assumption that if she did land a role in the movie, it is one that is insignificant.

Asked for details on her Hollywood project during an ambush interview at topical cream Fuslin’s event, Aquino, who hosted the program, simply maintained she still cannot talk about it.

“I’m sorry, I’m not allowed to do any form of interview [on the matter]. I don’t want to violate a non-disclosure [agreement]. Please allow me this; let me obey them. Thank you,” she hurriedly said, then meaningfully added, “They might misinterpret me and take it back. It’s already a gift from God.”

It will be remembered that as early as April 6, Aquino announced on social media that she had auditioned for an “international project.” Speculation that it would be for the movie adaptation of Kwan’s novel started on April 12 when she excitedly shared she got a follow-back on Instagram from the author.

By April 15, she finally posted she had an offer from “big Hollywood studio movie.”

Aquino’s announcement partly read: “I passed five levels of intense scrutiny and was offered a role… It is surreal to be reading the script from a major Hollywood studio watermarked on every page with my name.”

The following day, she declared she had flown to Los Angeles to sign a movie contract with a Hollywood agent: “I am now being managed globally by East West Artists headquartered in Los Angeles… My entertainment career will be under the direct supervision of one of their partners, @agentchrislee. #NewBlessing #NewJourney.”

With son Bimby (extreme left), Hollywood agent Chris Lee, and financial adviser Nicko Falcis during her trip to LA INSTAGRAM/KRISAQUINO

In another Instagram post, the 46-year-old host-actress, whose late mother Corazon and brother Nonoy were former Philippine presidents, said she had decided to “work in silence.”

“Obeying the request of @agentchrislee, believing in the wisdom of @nix722, and for the peaceful hearts of my sisters. #challengeaccepted,” she added.

Shortly before her supposed Hollywood career began, Aquino–who has had no show on TV since leaving ABS-CBN as a contract star in 2016–had a one-shot special aired on GMA Network titled “Trip ni Kris,” which was also a block-timer. Not too well-received by the public, she further got into a controversy with the show’s producer Rhodora Morales when the latter prevented her from airing Trip ni Kris on her Facebook page, after Aquino told a showbiz magazine they do not have the best of working relationships. She apologized to the producer on social media but Morales’ decision stayed.

Given her successive career setbacks [remember President Duterte’s no show at her one-on-one interview in Davao?], the question is, is Aquino’s #NewBlessing truly what she says it is?